Make sure you gather sources before trying to draft your paper. Keep a research journal for ideas that occur while you’re reading. Allow your focus to shift as you gather sources and read into your problem. Your research question will evolve the more you learn about your issue. What you thought you were investigating could turn into a dead end, but it might alert you to another question or problem on the same issue, or something related. Review the structure of research papers. Aim your article for a specific scholarly journal in your field. Follow the formatting and conventions of that scholarly journal. Present your report/response in a way that considers and responsibly represents viewpoints on that issue to a scholarly audience in your field who are not experts about the issue. Once you have a draft, you should also read through your paper and see where you can polish your transitions and signposting. Write your introduction and conclusion last.
Content of Paragraphs
Introduction: You should explain the social justice issue you’ve chosen to write about, state a problem or dilemma, and provide your opinion on it. You should also explain why your issue and opinion matters to certain audiences, a discipline, or the general public.
Overview/Literature Review: You should briefly overview the various stakeholders and perspectives on this problem. Who is affected? What have people said regarding the causes and ramifications of the problem? What solutions or stances have been offered? Where and why do people agree/disagree? This might be 1-2 pages. In some ways, it’s an elaboration and extension of your introduction.
Main Body: Here, you’ll offer 3-4 claims and evidence in support of your argument about the topic. The Toulmin method applies here. Your claims are greatly enhanced if you provide some qualification and rebuttals or counter-argument. In other words, how might people disagree with some of your claims? How do you respond to critics or naysayers? Make sure you include a blend of direct and indirect citations.
Conclusion: The conclusion should synthesize and summarize your findings. It should also restate the significance of your opinion, the problem, and the information you’ve found. Here, you’ll also outline some broader questions or future work that remain. These might be goals for future research done by yourself, or the field you’re researching as a whole.
References Page: You must include a references page. Refer to the Purdue OWL to learn how to format your research paper and references page.